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The Washington has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies charged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Revealing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, after an report which found that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the Colombians have been accused of teaching underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a pivotal function in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged managed a business implicated in handling funds and payroll for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the Treasury said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "very significant" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Colombia recently passed a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change national security policy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.